Action of 22 September 1914

The Action of 22 September 1914 was a naval battle of World War I fought between the Royal Navy and the Imperial German Navy off the Dutch coast in the North Sea. In the ensuing battle, a single German submarine sunk three British armored cruisers, killing 1,459 sailors without the loss of a single German life.

Battle
The Royal Navy claimed a clear victory at the Battle of Heligoland Bight, but the British were beginning to sustain worrying losses to mines and submarines. On 22 September, a single German submarine, the U-9, sank three British cruisers patrolling off the Dutch coast, killing almost 1,500 sailors. Even worse for Admiral John Jellicoe, in October, the super-dreadnought HMS Audacious, one of Britain's most powerful warships, was sunk by a contact mine off the coasst of Ireland. It was clear that the Royal Navy was not equipped to deal with minesweeping or antisubmarine warfare.